I should seriously apologise for misnaming the guy who was killed in the making of Flight of the Pheonix.It was Paul Mantz,rather than the Tallmantz chap I referred to earlier.I was relying on my grey matter,which becomes an incresingly bad idea as the day wears on.Sorry folks.

Thanks for the info on the Buchon rudder design Olivier.Just to correct Mike Currill,the Avia S.199 Mezek was powered by a Junkers Jumo,rather than an engine built by Avia themselves. The Czechs had built a number of single and two seaters with original DB605’s,calling them S.99’s.When they ran out of DB’s,they resorted to the Jumo and renamed it the S.199.Ironic to think the 109 started it’s combat career under the Swastika and ended it under the Star of David.
With regard to the O47 used in Flight of the Pheonix,I think the accident it suffered a few decades ago was the one which occurred during filming,killing the highly respected Hollywood pilot Frank Tallmantz.The aircraft crashed on what should have been the triumphant landing sequence for the film,so the film doesn’t show the aircraft landing.If I remember rightly,the movie was dedicated to Frank Tallmantz.

Sad news indeed,thanks for posting the pictures Snapper.Looking at those pictures of him amongst old friennds,it’s nice to think that perhaps he is now reunited with many others…

I think the projected date for completion was a bit optimistic there!The Widow is a complex beast and the last I heard a few months back the fuselage was still in the jigs,with some fitting out of equipment being started on.I haven’t heard anything officially about how long she’ll take,but another couple of years wouldn’t surprise me.

Thanks for your advice on the London Gazette chaps,I’d already been told the same by Kev35 last week.Unfortunately,I’ve looked there and he’s not mentioned for whatever reason.One of my more distant family did a bit of family tree research,and I’m told he managed to unearth a citation of some sort,so hopefully I’ll be able to find out something via that route.